


Rude Awakenings

by Hummingbird1759



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: 5+1 Things, Childhood, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Pre-Canon, Starfleet Academy, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:08:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28715520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hummingbird1759/pseuds/Hummingbird1759
Summary: Five times Tom Paris had to wake someone up from a sound sleep, and one time it happened to him.
Relationships: Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway, Harry Kim/Tom Paris
Comments: 46
Kudos: 34





	1. Paris Family Home, 2356

Captain Owen Paris sat on the cold concrete floor of a Cardassian prison, handcuffed and half-naked, while Gul Maret loomed over him.

“You may think you are strong, Paris, but you will break just like the rest of them,” Gul Maret snarled.

Owen glared up at Maret stoically and said nothing.

Maret smiled cruelly. “Or perhaps we should simply have you watch what we do with your pretty science officer? You may not care about your own skin, Paris, but surely you care about _hers?_ ”

Owen continued his emotionless glare.

“Your human females are weak. Now, Cardassian women, they can tolerate any sort of hardships. But human women? Ha! She will be begging for death within the hour.”

The Cardassian reached down and grabbed Owen’s shoulder. Seething with rage, Owen reached up and…

**WHACK!**

Owen sat bolt upright on the couch, panting, and looked around wild-eyed. _Not prison. Earth. I’m home. And who…_

“Ow! Dad! What was that for?”

Owen’s head whipped over to the voice and saw not Gul Maret, but his eleven-year-old son, Tom, eyes full of fear and fury and lower lip bleeding profusely.

Shamefaced, Owen murmured, “I’m… I’m sorry, son. I was having a nightmare. Go get the dermal regenerator and I’ll fix that cut.”

Tom eyed him warily. “Um…. I’ll do it myself. Mom said to tell you dinner’s ready.” The boy scuttled out of the room before his father could reply.


	2. Paris Family Home, 2362

Seventeen-year-old Tom Paris raised his head from the pillow and looked out his bedroom window in horror as he saw his parents coming up the front walk. They weren’t supposed to be home from their trip this early, and they definitely weren’t supposed to find out that his girlfriend had spent the night.

“Shit! Becky, wake up!” Tom yelped.

“Mmmph?” Becky mumbled.

“My folks came back early! You have to get out of here or we’re both dead!”

“Shit!” Becky hissed, and began scrambling around the room for her clothes.

“I’ll go distract them,” Tom offered, throwing on a pair of pajama pants and an old T-shirt. “You sneak out the back door, then head northeast for about half a kilometer – that’s the nearest transporter station.”

“Okay,” she said, and gave him a quick kiss. “Wanna do this again some time?”

“Hell yeah,” Tom grinned.

Tom galumphed down the hall and fake-yawned when he reached the kitchen. “Oh, hey Mom and Dad. Wasn’t expecting you home so early.”

Julia Paris rolled her eyes and said, “You know your father – always got work to do, can’t just enjoy himself for a full weekend.” She looked from Owen to Tom, then back to Owen, and said something about needing to unpack before darting off to the main bedroom.

Owen eyed Tom critically. “Son, did you have a girl over?”

Tom gulped. “Why do you ask?”

Admiral Paris folded his arms and frowned. “What’s that mark on your collarbone?”

Tom’s face and neck went beet red. “Uh….”

Owen smirked at his son, then clapped him on the shoulder and said, “About time. Just remember that I’m still too young to be a grandfather.”

“Yes, sir,” Tom stammered, and with a dazed expression, watched his father depart.


	3. Starfleet Academy, 2364

Tom never intended for it to get this far. His roommate’s study group was supposed to finish around 2100, and then Deemuk and his boyfriend, Grant, were supposed to go out and be their nauseatingly cute selves while Tom got some much-needed studying done. Instead, Deemuk’s study group ran several hours over – their warp particle experiment had failed and they had to start over from the beginning. 

Grant and Tom had started out just making small talk about their classes – Grant was a year ahead of Tom and Deemuk, and since he was also on the pilot track, he’d taken most of Tom’s classes. That evolved into watching old movies on Tom’s bed, eventually sitting a little closer than one would expect from two guys who were just friends. When Deemuk messaged to say “don’t wait up,” Grant brought out the whiskey he’d intended to share with Deemuk and asked Tom if he wanted a shot.

Tom never could say no to whiskey.

After their fourth (or was it fifth?) shot, Grant, pink-cheeked and cloudy-eyed, asked, “Ever been with a man before?”

“Um… no,” Tom giggled, the tips of his ears red.

“Wanna try?” Grant slurred.

“Um… yeah, okay,” Tom replied with a lopsided grin.

From then on, the night was a blur of sloppy kisses, roaming hands, and stifled moans. At the end of it, they both flopped onto Tom's pillow, sweaty and sated. _I should do this again some time… just not with someone else’s boyfriend._

Tom woke up the next morning with a colossal hangover, Grant in his bed, and Deemuk fast asleep in the other bed. _Shit. At least he didn’t turn on the lights when he came in._ Gently, he poked Grant in the shoulder and then gestured towards Deemuk. Nodding, Grant gingerly climbed over Tom to look for his clothes…

…but tripped and fell onto the floor with a mighty thud.

Deemuk rolled over in bed, saw his naked boyfriend on the floor, then noticed his equally naked roommate, and let out a scream of rage that woke up the entire wing of their dormitory.


	4. USS Voyager, 2372

Chakotay had been enjoying a restful sleep after a decidedly _not_ restful evening with Kathryn. At the end of the night, they’d dozed off in each other’s arms, and everything was pure bliss until the voice of Tom Paris echoed through the comm.

“Bridge to Chakotay.”

Chakotay stirred slightly in bed, trying not to disturb Kathryn. _Dammit Paris. Is there anything you can’t ruin?_ “Go ahead, Paris,” he said, voice hoarse.

“Sorry to wake you, Commander, but we’re coming up on a subspace anomaly. We think you might want to have a look at it. Should we get the captain too?”

Chakotay let out an annoyed huff. “No, that’s not necessary. I’m on my way. Chakotay out.”

As he got up from the bed, Janeway lifted her head and murmured, “Everything all right?”

He kissed her cheek and whispered, “Just fine, beautiful. Don’t worry.” She made a slight “mmm-hmm” and went back to slumbering.

A few minutes later, Chakotay arrived on the bridge. After Tom gave him report, he messaged Harry from his station.

_TP: I told you so._

_HK: He took 23 extra seconds. That means nothing._

_TP: You obviously didn’t see his neck._

_HK: HOLY CRAP!!!_

_TP: You owe me 5 replicator rations._

_HK: Dammit. Who won the betting pool?_

_TP: Jenny Delaney._

_HK: You think anybody has a betting pool on us? :)_

_TP: Yes._

_HK: Who??_

_TP: Neelix._

_HK: Really??_

_TP: Well, everybody thinks it’s Neelix. It’s actually me._

_HK: What?!?_

_TP: This way I can be sure to win. ;)_

Chakotay stifled the urge to roll his eyes at Paris and Kim, who were doing exactly nothing to disguise the way they snickered at each other. _Sometimes I feel like I’m a middle school teacher instead of the commander of a starship._ Kathryn thought the two of them should just start dating, if they hadn’t already – “they constantly flirt with each other anyway” – but he wasn’t so sure. _They’re already insufferable; the last thing I need from them is puppy love. Or a lover’s quarrel._

Chakotay barked, “Mr. Paris! Mr. Kim! Is there something you’d like to share with the rest of us?”

“No, sir,” they chorused.

“Eyes on your duties then,” Chakotay reprimanded. _Seventy years might not be enough time for these two to grow up…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the episode “The Cloud” we see Tuvok and Harry having a one-on-one conversation over the comm while they’re both on the Bridge. I figure if they can do that, they can probably text each other too.


	5. USS Voyager, January 2373

After a month of sleeping together, Tom had gotten used to Harry’s sleep habits – he snored if he slept on his back, he was one of the heaviest sleepers Tom had ever known, and he talked in his sleep. Usually it was innocuous, but tonight was a different story. When Tom heard the words “pipe” and “chute,” he knew it was another nightmare. _That’s the third one this week._ The other two seemed to end quickly, but he’d timed this one at ten minutes and counting. _Time to end the misery – his and mine._ Tom fetched a towel out of the bathroom, then went over to the replicator and got a glass of water. He climbed back into bed, sat next to Harry, and threw the water on his face.

“Augh!” Harry yanked off his sleep mask and sat up straight, breathing heavily.

“Sorry about that, Harry. You were having a nightmare,” Tom said, handing him the towel.

“So you threw water on me?!?” Harry demanded, drying off his face and neck.

Tom looked down at the sheets. “When I was a kid, my father was captured by the Cardassians – Janeway was actually with him, she was his science officer back then – and the Cardassians… they did what they usually do to their prisoners.”

Harry winced.

Tom continued, “A couple of weeks after he got home, my father was napping on the couch and my mom sent me to wake him up. I grabbed his shoulder, and he hit me because he thought I was one of them. Split my lower lip open. After that, I learned not to wake people up from nightmares by touching them.”

Tom looked back to Harry, and his heart broke at the anguish in Harry’s face. Much of their ordeal in the Akritiri prison was a shadow to him, but he knew Harry wasn’t so lucky. _What are you hiding from me? And why?_ He laced his fingers through Harry’s and said with all the tenderness he could muster, “I can tell your nightmares have been getting worse. If you can’t talk to me about it, that’s okay, but please think about talking to _somebody_ , Har. I hate seeing you like this.”

Harry looked down at their joined hands sheepishly. “Okay. I will.”

“Good. Now let’s try to get some sleep.” Tom gently kissed Harry on the forehead, and they both lay back down – Harry slightly closer to Tom than before in order to avoid the wet sheets.

They lay on their sides facing each other, and Tom draped his left arm over Harry. Both were quiet for a few minutes, and then Harry ran his thumb over Tom’s lower lip. “I’m sorry your father hit you.”

_God, I don’t deserve this man_. He half-smiled and said, “Don’t be. That was the only time he ever hit me. It’s also the only time he ever apologized to me.” He gave Harry a squeeze and said, “You’re safe.”

Harry fell asleep within minutes. Tom lay awake for what felt like hours, watching Harry sleep and wondering how to exorcise his demons.


	6. USS Voyager, March 2373

Neither of them could sleep alone after Akritiri. It started out platonic, but didn’t stay that way for long, and after alternating between each other’s quarters for two months, they admitted there was no reason for them to continue having separate quarters. So, after obtaining permission from the captain, they spent a hectic day moving all of Tom’s possessions into Harry’s quarters and fell into bed exhausted. And then, after they’d been out cold for roughly four hours, red lights came on and the red alert klaxon clanged through their pitch-black bedroom.

“All hands, battlestations! Senior officers report to the Bridge!” Janeway’s voice pierced the darkness.

Both of them scrambled into their uniforms and then raced down the corridor to the turbolift. Heart pounding, Harry commanded it to go to the Bridge, and the lift began to move.

Tom took his hand – a flagrant violation of their no-public-affection rule – and said, “Harry, I love you.”

“I- I love you too,” Harry stammered in a joyful panic.

Tom gave the cocky smile that made Harry weak at the knees and said, “I know. I’ve always known.”

Harry’s face broke into a grin, but before he could reply, the turbolift stopped at the Bridge. They both boiled out and took their stations, ready to protect _Voyager_ at all costs.

* * *

Eighteen hours later, the threat was over and they were back at their quarters, where they changed into pajamas and sank into bed almost immediately. Tom’s eyes fluttered shut as soon as his head hit the pillow, but Harry was still wide awake.

He cupped Tom’s cheek and said, “Tom? Don’t go to sleep yet, I need to ask you something.”

“What?” Tom mumbled, eyelids drooping.

Harry gazed into his eyes with a plaintive expression. “That thing you said in the turbolift… did you mean it?”

Tom immediately regained alertness. “Yes, of course I did.” He threw his arms around Harry and said, “I love you. I’ve been trying to find the right time to say it, but it looks like the Delta Quadrant chose it for me.”

“Really?”

“Really. I was hoping to make it a little more romantic, but I had to say it, just in case…”

“Yeah.” After a beat, Harry kissed him and said, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Tom murmured, sleep already dragging him down. “Maybe I’ll show you how much in the morning…”

“Yeah,” Harry yawned, and within minutes, they were both sound asleep.


End file.
